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Trying to Run on Empty

4:38 PM

Hey everyone. I hope everyone already knows the reason I've been out for a while. I haven't made in any secret that I've been sick and after those really bad 103 degree fevers last week I told myself I can't handle it anymore and I really am going to see a real doctor. The antibiotics the Minute Clinic nurse gave me weren't doing anything and the cough suppressants barely were making a dent in my bronchitis at all. The fevers didn't start until after going there too, so along with my very generous father to help pay for my doctor's visit, I finally went.

X-rays were taken, and thankfully there's no serious pneumonia. There was a small amount of fluid but no pooling of liquid at the bottom of my lungs or anything. He kept asking me about my asthma this or had I had bad asthma as a child, which I had never been diagnosed of in my life. Apparently my body reacts like an asthmatic? I'll definitely have to look more into that when I get better.

The treatment he put me on is a medicine called Prednisone, which is a pretty evil little steroid that suppresses your immune system so that it stops attacking itself. I'd been on it once before when I had a bad food allergy that put me in the hospital, and I still have haunting memories of all the bad side effects. Last time, the worst was INTENSE food cravings like I've never had in my life. I had gained about 5lbs in 1 week. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some of you, but that was literally 1/15th of my entire body weight. This combined with body aches, water retention causing a puffy face and bloated stomach, depression, and important design projects I had to work on... Obviously I had reasons to be disappointed I had to get back on it.

My reaction this time around hasn't been pleasant but it's been different. I haven't had any of the food cravings, partially since I haven't been very hungry since being sick in the first place. My fevers have actually grown less frequent day to day and my coughing has gone down significantly. The bad part is that I still do have the body aches and pains and a really profound dizziness and nausea that has basically kept me in bed with nothing to do but sleep. Can you say boring and depressing? Yup, that's a summary of how I've been feeling.

So yeah. Sorry if I've been slow to writing back e-mails or sending out packages. I have literally not left my home in over a week. This is the longest time I've spent online in the last week, which is probably more than the other times combined. I'm still shocked I haven't gotten too dizzy and quit.

Oooh, spoke too soon. Gonna go lay down again. <3 you girls. Thank you Eki and Lisa for the amazing V-day love packages you sent, it means more to me now that you could ever, ever know. And thank you everyone else for your support and understanding. I hope you are all able to stay healthy and happy and safe.

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Jen! Thank you so much for telling us about your conditions because I was really starting to worry after your long absence and how you said you had a fever and etc etc for so long. D:

I wish you all the best and I hope you can recover very soon! I can't say I know what you're going through but I actually had pneumonia before that wasn't diagnosed until two weeks later and that was just utterly horrible since I had ongoing fever for more than a week.

I wish there's something I can do to help...>___< But the problem with illness is that it's something that's occurring in our own bodies and aside from the medicine that you already have, I think all I can give and would like to send you is my love~

Jen, your illness sounds awful!! I'm sorry to hear it has gotten so bad! I had suspected it was walking pneumonia, but I'm glad it isn't. Whatever it is, you're closer to figuring out what it is and how to treat it. So that discovery, and the Prednisone, which has been working with little to no side effects, is really good news.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop! I hope you feel much better VERY soon!!

Hi Jen!January-february IS the moment where people get the most respiratory problems. Get well soon and you probably know it but don't forget to cover your mouth & nose if ever you go out. Get a lot of rest and I wish you to be in top shape very soon! :)

OOH, get better. I'd hate to be sick that long.My doctor insists I have asthma but I keep telling him when I was younger I'd get asthmatic symptoms because of the climate and where I lived. It was junk though, I'd get sick for a super long time and have to use nebulizers even though I didn't have asthma.Get better Jen!!

Hi Jen! I've never left you a comment but I've been following your blog for quite some time now. I always appreciate the pretty tutorials and makeup ideas you post, and I'm really sorry to hear about your ongoing sickness.

The good thing is that it sounds like you're trying to take good care of yourself and as you've mentioned in other posts, it seems like you have such a strong support system from your family and friends. What more can you ask for when you're sick, right? Ask your umma to make you some jook! :p

I've had to use prednisone MANY times in the past due to an eye condition I have. Because of the eye condtion, I would have to be on it for almost a year so yeah, I gained over 40lbs. One of the side effects to prednisone is that it suppresses the sensation of feeling full in your stomach so you will always feel hungry all the time. Because of the high dosage I was on, my immune system was basically shot and I would develop ear/sinus/upper respiratory infections easily.

Just take it easy as you don't want to relapse again and get put back on the meds.

I'm glad you finally got a serious check up...we dispense prednisone left and right and I have had many people tell me about how it makes them so incredibly hungry. Hopefully it won't effect you as dramatically as before...just take it in the morning and with food :) It'll hopefully quell the cravings a little bit and not keep you up at night.

Ohhh nooo >_< that's really long to have a fever. I really hope you'll get better soon! Try some lemon tea, I mean I know it may not be the best curing option, but whenever I drink it, it makes me really happy so I just wanted to share it with you ^_^

I hope you get better jen! It really sounds serious. I have been on prednisone for skin allergies before, and I hated it. It totally ruined my body's defense and immune system and I came off more sick. Please be careful.

sucks that you've yet to recover & instead gotten worse. hope that whatever the doctor prescribed, plus lots of rest will help you get well very soon! take care! you'll be missed while you recover! keke ^^

Girl, awe.. you don't sound good. I really hope you make a full recovery SOON. VERY SOON. The fluid in the lungs does not sound good! I hope you're not in too much pain. Get well soon. I heart you! Let me know if I could do anything. I can always drop off soup! :)

Hi Jen! I took prednisone for a whole year last year due to an autoimmune illness. I hated it.. I gained 10 lbs and definitely had moon face! It works so well, but the side effects are just awful. I hope you feel better soon and figure out what exactly it is you have! I feel ya girl!

It's a good thing you finally decided to go get a real check-up! I haven't been able to visit your blog lately, but the last two times I stopped by, I read that you were sick, so this illness has been settling in your system for a while! =( I hope that you'll feel better soon, now that you're taking Prednisone!

That's really strange that you experienced so many side effects from taking it! I've taken it a few times before when I've gotten really sick, but I guess I'm lucky not to have any adverse reactions to it. It just leaves a nasty, bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

I know you must've been feeling terrible because I've had pneumonia before (freshman year in college...FAIL!), so I had no one to take care of me but myself. It was the worst experience ever, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone! And to make it worse, I got misdiagnosed the first time! It wasn't until I finished a whole bottle of prescribed cough syrup, that the "doctor" at the student health center decided I needed x-rays and told me I had pneumonia...sheesh!

Here's to a speedy recovery! Can't wait to hear when you get better! Love you! xoxo

I hope you get better and I hope it isn't the developing signs of asthma.Usually people who can't control their asthma are on Prednisone.Anyhow, I'm sure with a lot of rest you'll be back on your toes:)Stay healthy and get better soon!

About me

Hi, I'm Jen! I've been blogging and making youtube videos since 2008 and have loved encouraging others to feel beautiful in their own skin ever since. I hope you enjoy my beauty tips and reviews, style inspiration, and a bit of my life as a wife and mother!